Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer announced late last month that he will retire at the end of the court’s current term.
Breyer, 83, was appointed to the high court by President Bill Clinton in 1994. He has tended to vote in favor of church-state separation.
“We urge President Biden to nominate a justice who reflects the diversity of our country and understands that separation of church and state is the cornerstone of religious freedom,” said AU President and CEO Rachel Laser in a statement.
Laser added, “We need a justice who will be a bulwark against the court’s ultra-conservative majority, who seem set on redefining religious freedom as a sword to harm others instead of a shield to protect all of us. We deserve a justice who will defend our country’s foundational principle of separation of religion and government like our democracy depends on it – because it does.”
As this issue of Church & State went to press, Biden had not named any potential replacements for Breyer. Look for an update in the March issue.
